Don't Panic, But There's A 'Global Halloumi Shortage'

Not to alarm you but a global halloumi shortage may be causing the price of the beloved cheese to rise, according to some experts.

An increase in demand in other countries, such as China, may have caused some stores in the UK to struggle to purchase enough to keep stock levels up and shoppers happy.

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The average price of halloumi is up by 12 per cent from this time last year, and it has increased by five per cent in the last month alone, according to data analysed by The Grocer.

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Aldi was even forced to ration its popular frozen halloumi fries to just two boxes per customer at one time to allow everyone to try out the cheese. The price was up by 30p from last year from £1.99 to £2.29.

Analysts Edge by Ascential for the publication said us Brits are obsessed with the Cypriot cheese, and the UK accounts for 43 per cent of exports of the cheese from Cyprus.

Staggeringly, as a country, we also consumed 12,000 tonnes of halloumi every year.

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Credit: Pixabay

The magazine said: "Demand for halloumi is also surging across the rest of Europe and in China where consumers have recently developed an appetite for the cheese.

"Last year, producers in Cyprus warned they were already struggling to keep up with demand and an export deal with China might lead to shortages in the UK."

Credit: Pexels

According to the data, Morrisons has seen the biggest increase in price (and by biggest, we mean a few pence).

Rachel Andrews

Rachel Andrews is an NCTJ trained Journalist at PRETTY52. She specialises in Fashion and Beauty Journalism, and has experience at a range of online and print publications and joined the team in 2017. Contact her - rachel.andrews@pretty52.com